The Dark Lord's Dark Secret
by Amorraa
Summary: When Harry arrives at Hogwarts for his fourth year, he discovers that Draco, Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Ginny, and a whole lot of other people have a secret... but what is it? Will Harry find out what the secret is? And if he does, will Ron and Hermione believe him? Harry suspects this 'secret organization' that they have has something to do with dark magic... I SWEAR IT ENDS UP FUNNY!
1. Chapter 1

The golden trio walked down the Hogwarts Express corridor, ready to start their fourth year at Hogwarts. Hermione's puffy hair bounced up and down as she walked, and Harry's glasses reflected the beautiful gold color of the long carpet that decorated the floor. Ron was more freckly than ever, his hair a flaming red. The three friends chattered with each other, talking about who the next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor might be. As they began a discussion about the houses, they were interrupted by the sudden realization that they hadn't yet picked a compartment. Unfortunately, almost all of the compartments were full. All but one. One compartment at the very back of the train wasn't full. Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked over to the compartment door. Ron pretended to gag. No, it wasn't full… but it wasn't entirely empty. There was one occupant—and that one occupant just happened to be Draco Malfoy. Hermione slid the compartment door open. Malfoy looked confused.

He sneered. ''What are you three doing here?''

''This is the only compartment left.'' Hermione explained, sitting herself down nearest the window, and farthest from Malfoy. Ron walked in after her. Not wanting to sit next to Malfoy, he sat himself by Hermione. Harry hesitated before entering, but he eventually entered the compartment, closed the door, and sat himself down next to Ron. Malfoy rolled his eyes.

''Just invite yourself in, will you?'' He complained, pulling his knees to his chest. He sneered again. ''And don't even dare talk to me, you're too unworthy.''

Hermione looked deeply insulted. She rolled her eyes, a certain kind of irritation could be found in the tone of her voice. ''I'm guessing it's because of my blood type that you say this?'' She carped, crossing her arms. She turned her head and looked out the window. Malfoy looked triumphant.

''No, though you're right; I am also superior to you for that reason—'' He smirked. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked confused.

''Then what?'' Ron asked irritably. Malfoy smirked again. ''Can't tell you—orders from the boss.'' Malfoy conferred—and he gave out a big grin. Ron, Hermione, and Harry exchanged puzzled glances. ''What's that supposed to mean?'' Harry grumbled. But Malfoy merely smirked. But Harry did notice another thing—Malfoy rubbed his left forearm. Harry remembered that Death Eaters, Lord Voldemort's deepest followers, had tattoos burnt into their left forearms… this caused Harry's heart to race. He had to tell Ron and Hermione. Could Malfoy be a death eater?

Throughout the rest of the ride, nobody spoke. Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't feel comfortable talking around Malfoy; and Malfoy certainly didn't feel comfortable talking to them. It was all awkward, through the whole thing, Malfoy twiddled his wand. Ron, Harry, and Hermione occasionally whispered to one another, but it wasn't very often. Harry was stuck thinking about Malfoy—he could very well be a death eater. If Voldemort was back, he would definitely need his followers; and Malfoy's dad was one of them—it all made sense. Malfoy was a death eater! Harry had always suspected he'd become one—but now? Does that mean that Voldemort is back? Harry's heart began throbbing against his chest. He felt himself start to sweat. Malfoy—a death eater.

'' Harry, are you coming or not?'' Ron said, throwing his bag over his shoulder. ''We've made it, we're here!'' He exclaimed to Harry. Harry broke into a weak smile. Harry thought Malfoy seemed to have noticed, because he smirked at Harry over Ron's shoulder. Harry watched as Malfoy gathered his stuff and left the compartment. He watched him walk down the hall and disappear into the distance.

''What was that?'' Harry quizzed as the trio walked out into the crowded Hogwarts Express hallway. As they walked, students all around bumped into each other.

Hermione and Ron exchanged a glance. ''What was what?'' They both said in unison.

''I need to tell you lot something.'' Harry gulped. Ron smiled. ''Tell us, then!'' He demanded.

Before he was able to say anything more, the three friends found themselves at the Hogwarts Express door, and they heard a familiar voice shouting from the distance.

''Firs' yers, firs' years over 'ere!'' Hagrid yelled, holding up a glowing lantern. Harry waved at him, and Hagrid waved back. ''How are ya', Harry?'' He shouted, and Harry grinned. ''Good, Hagrid!'' He yelled back. Hagrid nodded and quickly returned to escorting all the first years into their boats. Harry, Ron, And Hermione shared a carriage with Neville Longbottom and Ginny.

Harry trusted the two, so he told all four of his friends about the strange experience with Malfoy.

''I think he might be a death eater.'' Harry confessed. Both Neville and Ginny exchanged nervous glances. Ginny gave out a weak smile. ''Harry, that's really funny of you—but don't you think that's a big assumption you're making? I mean, that's pretty serious stuff. You shouldn't be jumping to such serious conclusions.'' She tried, but Harry didn't look convinced. In fact, he looked irritated.

Harry didn't only look irritated, he _was_ irritated. Draco Malfoy was a death eater and no one was admitting it! It was obvious—his hate for muggle-borns and his general personality all fit in! Ginny and Neville may have not believed him, but Ron and Hermione surely would!

Hope for Harry was instantly shattered when Hermione thought she'd comment too, though. ''Harry, that's ridiculous! Yes, he's a spoiled, rich, prat… but that doesn't mean he follows _You-Know-Who_!'' She whispered. Harry looked insulted. ''I swear! I swear, he's a death eater. And I'm going to prove it to you!'' He promised, a fiery look to him. Harry's four friends merely exchanged a look before Neville changed the subject.

''Wonderful weather we're having, eh?'' He said nervously, it was a really dumb thing to say. But nobody seemed to mind; Hermione quickly jumped up and exclaimed, '' Oh yes! I hear it's going to be raining all next week!'' and the group broke into an excited conversation about the weather, which turned into a conversation about how silly umbrellas looked, muggle inventions, galleons, brooms, and finally Quidditch. But Harry wasn't satisfied—he was going to get to the bottom of Draco Malfoy. Not joining in on the bubbly conversation between his friends, Harry sat with his knees to his chest and stared around the carriage. When his eyes landed toward where Ginny and Neville sat, Harry's eyes widened when he saw Ginny rub her left forearm, just how Malfoy had done earlier.


	2. Chapter 2

At the Hogwarts' beginning of the year feast, the five Gryffindors sat together at their house table. Harry couldn't help but keep his eyes on Malfoy, who was sitting across the hall at the Slytherin table. The sorting of the new first years had just finished. ''You're obsessed, Harry!'' Hermione whispered violently, which irritated Harry, but she was right. Harry was obsessed, it was only the first day and he was already obsessing over Malfoy.

''I need to prove he's a death eater!'' He told her, she rolled her eyes. The others seemed to have heard him, because they stopped talking and looked at him worryingly. Harry hadn't forgotten about Ginny, though. He couldn't stop thinking about her either, could _she_ be a death eater too? Ginny _was_ a pure blood, but she was very close to Hermione—she didn't have any problems with muggles, did she? He would have to tell Ron about this—he had to know the truth about Ginny.

''Harry, stop with this whole 'Draco Malfoy is a death eater' theory. You're only saying that because you hate him!'' Hermione accused. Harry looked taken aback. ''It's not because I hate him!'' He told her, ''It's because I saw the evidence! And if you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you! I'm going to prove to you all that Malfoy is a death eater if it's the last thing I do!'' He huffed, and stood up from the Gryffindor table. Around him, people's eyes fell on Harry. He ignored them though, and confronted the friends. ''I'm going to bed.'' He confirmed, and stomped out of the Great Hall. On his way out, he felt many faces staring at him. Whether they were angry, sad, happy, or confused, he didn't know. He didn't pay attention to the faces staring at him—all he knew was that he had to leave before he started yelling at everyone.

He marched through the corridors, on his way to the beloved Gryffindor common room when he heard voices from a nearby classroom. Harry wondered who could be out of the Great Hall this early in the feast—but quickly remembered that he wasn't there either. Curiosity got the best of Harry, and he crept over to listen in on the low conversation. A familiar voice, Harry guessed it belonged to Snape, spoke.

''You must remember not to tell _anyone_ of this! If you do, so help me I'll—'' He began, but another familiar voice, belonging to Lucius Malfoy, interrupted him. ''Yes, yes Severus… I understand the consequences. No one can know.'' He said. Snape answered back, ''Very well. And Draco will be joining us as well, Lucius. Along with a couple of other members of the staff and some students I found. They all fit _the standards_. They have the talents that the Dark Lord has requested…'' he said. Lucius smiled.

''Very well. And Harry Potter? What shall we do with him?'' Lucius quizzed, and Snape's lip curled. ''The members of the Dark Lord contain some students… but I find them trustworthy, or I wouldn't have chosen them… so Potter will not be awared.'' Snape explained. At the sound of his name, Harry gasped.

''Good. That boy has no talent. Like, _seriously_ he can't play the drums for his life.'' Lucius chortled. Harry whispered under his breath, '' _Hey_!'' as he was very insulted. But what were Snape and Malfoy talking about? They were looking for trustworthy and talented students to join the Death Eaters—Harry was sure of it. And they must've collected Ginny along with some others! They had also mentioned Draco—so it was true then. Draco Malfoy was a confirmed death eater! There was no way the two dark wizards were talking about anything else—they mentioned 'The Dark Lord', another name for Voldemort. Harry had to get back to the common room and tell Ron and Hermione, but his thoughts were interrupted by Snape's chilling voice.

''Our next meeting will be tomorrow night at 9:00 in my office. Be there, Lucius. And bring along Narcissa if you must.'' He said. Lucius's lip curled. ''Narcissa mustn't know! I can't tell her, she'll kill me!'' Lucius hissed, and Snape nodded. ''I've given them all _the mark.''_ Snape said darkly. Lucius smirked. ''I shall go now, Severus. I must start practicing.'' He said. Snape nodded, and Malfoy turned on his heel to leave. As he walked toward the door, Harry jumped behind the nearest statue of a knight and hid himself behind it. Harry watched as Malfoy walked out of distance, humming. Harry heard Snape's office door close, and he ran up to the common room to share the exciting news with Ron and Hermione.

When he entered the common room, however, it was completely deserted. Harry guessed that the feast wasn't over yet, and Ron and Hermione were still enjoying themselves with all the delicious Hogwarts food. After Harry told them about the conversation he had just witnessed, Ron and Hermione would definitely be convinced! The truth about Snape and Malfoy would finally slip out—and Dumbledore would be able to expel Draco, along with firing Snape! Ha! Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, the golden year—the year the two people he despised most would be expelled and fired! Harry also dared to plan on going to ''the meeting''. Maybe Voldemort would be there, and Harry could kill him. After all, Voldemort was weak and most likely wouldn't be able to fight back. Harry hope Ron and Hermione would come with him. Harry finally had the proof about Draco Malfoy that he deserved.


	3. Chapter 3

When the crowd flooded through the Gryffindor common room, Ron and Hermione spotted Harry sitting alone by the cozy fire place. They exchanged nervous looks, and Harry waved them over. Harry could tell his two best friends were nervous, but he didn't care. He wanted to tell them all about Snape's little secret. Harry grinned. ''You won't believe the conversation I just overheard.'' He assured, and broke into a long story about the conversation.

''And then Snape was all like, 'I've chosen students that fit the standards, who have talent for the Dark Lord.' And then Lucius was like, ''Harry Potter sucks at flying'' and I was all like, 'Hey! I'm better than your son'' and then they talked about a meeting tomorrow at 9:00 and some other stuff, I told you! They're all death eaters, Snape and Malfoy are creating an army for when Voldemort—'' Ron's eyes widened, and he hissed at Harry. ' _'Don't say his name_!'' ''Sorry. _When You-Know-Who_ returns!'' Harry cried. But Hermione didn't seem convinced. ''Harry, you shouldn't be making things like this up. I'm going to bed, and I think you'd better do so as well. You seem… tired.'' She tried, but Harry wasn't convinced.

''If you don't believe me- fine. Be like that. I don't want you around anyway. Snape and Malfoy are up to something, and nobody wants to acknowledge it!'' Harry yelled. Ron and Hermione exchanged another pair of nervous looks. Harry had finally had enough—''And why does everyone keep acting like they know more than me? It's like you know something that I don't! Do you know about this secret organization that Snape and Malfoy are planning?'' He cried, than hesitated before speaking again. He gasped, a sudden realization swept over him. ''Are you two death eaters?'' He whispered fearfully. Ron and Hermione both gasped.

''Harry!'' Hermione cried. ''How dare you accuse us of such a thing! We would never be death eaters, Harry! It's practically illegal for us anyways, I'm muggleborn and his family is known as blood traitors!'' She gasped. Ron looked deeply offended as well. Harry realized his mistake, and dropped to his knees.

''I'm so sorry! I didn't mean—I just-'' He started, but Ron cut him off. ''Come on, mate. Let's get you to bed. Are you feeling okay?'' He asked unsurely. Harry didn't even know what was wrong with himself. He felt so obsessive over this 'secret organization', and he was beginning to get a little tired.

''What are you lot up to?'' A familiar voice asked behind Harry. Harry turned his head to see a girl with flaming red hair. ''Harry, why are you on the floor?'' Ginny asked, tilting her head to the side like a cat. Ron snorted. ''Been telling his stories again…'' He whispered in her ear. She nodded and sighed. She looked very nervous. Then, Harry noticed it again. Ginny grasped her left arm, right where the dark mark would be. Harry gulped, his eyes widened. Hermione seemed to have noticed, because she said, ''Harry? Is everything alright?''

Harry jumped at the sudden noise, and nodded his head quickly. ''I'm fine. I need sleep. We have classes in the morning, right?'' He stood up. Ron sighed. ''Yeah, potions first thing.'' He grumbled. But Harry didn't care—he needed to go to bed. He need to be rested up all for tomorrow—when the death eater's meeting took place. Harry ventured his way upstairs to the boys dorm. He changed into his pajamas and collapsed onto the four poster bed he so dearly missed. Harry was glad to be back at Hogwarts, back at home. He wouldn't have to deal with _the_ _Dursleys yelling at him that he was freak and ought not to practice magic_ at Hogwarts. This was his real home—despite what Dumbledore might say—wait… shoot. Dumbledore hasn't said anything yet. That's sixth year. Whoops.

Anyway, Harry thought long and hard about the meeting that was to occur tomorrow at 9:00PM. He would go with his invisibility cloak with Ron and Hermione, he'd prove to them that there really was something fishy going on. Something very sinister. He'd prove to them that Malfoy really was a death eater, and so was Ginny and a whole lot of other students as well.


	4. Chapter 4

''Harry! Harry, get up!'' A voice called. Harry felt himself awake with a jerk, two hands had grasped his shoulders. Harry slowly opened his eyes, and before him he saw two big eyes surrounded by curly red hair and patches of freckles. ''Harry, we're going to be late to breakfast!'' Ron whined, breaking his grasp on Harry's shoulders. Ron jumped off of where he sat on Harry's bed and started digging in his trunk. After searching through some random objects, Ron finally pulled out a book. The book said on it, _Potions: 4_ _th_ _Year._ Harry groaned, he had just remembered their first class would be with Snape. But then a sudden wave of excitement washed over him, maybe he would find some evidence about the Death Eater army him and Malfoy were conjuring up.

''Come on, mate! We haven't all day.'' Ron yelled, throwing the book into his bag and tossing it over his shoulder. Harry jumped out of bed, dug in his trunk, and pulled his robes out. ''All right, don't look now!'' Harry commanded Ron, covering himself with his dark robes. Ron rolled his eyes. ''We're both boys, Harry!'' Harry looked assaulted. ''Just because we're both the same sex doesn't mean you can go perving around!'' He bickered. Ron's ears turned red. ''Fine, I'm going down. You've gone mad, Harry! Mad!'' He grumbled, and made his way down the stairs after slamming the dormitory door. Harry could have swore he heard Ron whisper something that sounded an awful lot like ' _'You don't seem to be bothered by your constant perving of Malfoy_ …'' but Harry didn't think much of it… He didn't perve on Malfoy! Did he? WAIT THIS ISN'T A DRARRY FIC SHOOT OK SORRY—er—Harry merely rolled his eyes at Ron's snarky comment and started changing into his new robes. After he finished pulling on his robes, Harry grabbed his bag and started downstairs.

As he walked down the corridors to breakfast, Harry ran into none other than Professor Dumbledore. Harry was confused, what was Dumbledore doing out in the corridors? Shouldn't he be eating breakfast, like everyone else? ''Professor! What are you doing out here?'' Harry asked, raising a brow. Dumbledore looked nervous, like he was making something up in his head. ''Er—I'm looking for – cupcakes! Yes! Cupcakes. Do you happen to know where any are?'' The old wizard said, a very nervous smile creeping onto his face. Harry looked confused, Dumbledore was missing breakfast to look for cupcakes? For some reason this was unbelievable. Harry raised his brow higher. ''Er—no, Professor. I haven't a clue.'' Harry covered. He was pretty sure that there were cupcakes in the kitchens… the House elves were very good at baking! Shouldn't Dumbledore, being the school's headmaster, know that there would be cupcakes in the kitchens? ''I need to go now, Harry.'' Dumbledore said, ''I must find those cupcakes.'' He smiled nervously, and walked away in the opposite direction. Harry felt like saying ''The kitchens are that way!'' But caught himself before he could.

Harry ran into the Great Hall, still thinking about the mysterious encounter with Dumbledore. Why was everyone acting so weird? When Harry arrived at the Gryffindor table, he sat himself across from Ron and Hermione, who looked as if they were in deep discussion. Harry's two best friends immediately stopped talking when he sat himself, and Harry raised another brow. ''Well? Don't trust me anymore, or what?'' Harry grumbled. Ron looked irritated. ''We'd better head off for potions now, Hermione.'' He muttered into her ear loud enough for Harry to hear. Hermione nodded. ''Come on than, Harry. Are you ready to head for potions?'' She asked, standing herself up along with Ron. He elbowed her gently in the side, and she looked annoyed. ''Oh, Ron! Get over yourself! Harry is your friend for heaven's sake, act like it!'' She whispered hotly. Ron huffed. ''You should tell him that.'' He muttered through the side of his mouth.

Harry sneered. ''What are you talking about, Ron? I haven't been treating you badly! It's only the first day, for goodness sake!'' He rebuked. Ron's ears turned red. He took a deep breath, then shouted angrily, ''You've been acting like a downright git ever since we arrived. With your cheap stories and such! You just want attention—spreading rumours like you've been. Should've known you'd do this one day. You just want a reason to say You-Know-Who's back so you can find another way to make you more famous!'' Harry looked absolutely assaulted. He opened his mouth to talk, but Ron completely ignored him. He tossed his bag over his shoulder, ''I'm going to class now.'' He said through barred teeth, and finally marched out of the Great Hall. People everywhere looked after hearing Ron's howling. When Ron left the hall, Hermione sat back down onto the bench and stared at her lap.

Harry looked at her. ''What was that about? You two do believe me, don't you?'' He gulped, Hermione did nothing but stare at her folded hands. Harry tutted. ''You don't, do you!'' Hermione looked extremely nervous. Finally, she lifted her head and blurted out, ''Well it's kind of hard to believe all of it, Harry!'' She cried, people all around listened in with suspicious looks painted onto their faces. Hermione stood up, wiped her eyes, and picked up her bag. ''I'm sorry, Harry. Let's just get through today, alright?'' She said, holding out her hand. Harry hesitated, then nodded in response. ''First class is potions… this should be fun.'' He mumbled. Harry stood up, and as he and Hermione walked through the halls, he told her about Dumbledore and the cupcake deal. When they reached the classroom door, Harry had just finished his story. Hermione shook her head.

''That's definitely strange. I wonder what he'd be doing looking for cupcakes?'' She sighed, opening the classroom door to find a number of students chattering to one another, sitting together at desks. ''So do you wanna share a desk?'' Harry asked Hermione. Hermione rubbed the back of her head and a bit of pink appeared in her cheeks. ''Er—sorry, Harry. But I promised Ron I'd sit with him during potions…'' She mumbled. Harry nodded understandingly, and Hermione walked off towards Ron.

No more than two seconds later, Harry's thoughts were interrupted by an unexpected door slam behind him. Harry quickly turned around, still not seated, to find Snape standing just in front of him. Snape glared at Harry, looking down on him with his long, pointy nose. Snape curled his lip, and spoke in a voice that Harry certainly loathed, ''Mr. Potter-might I ask you why you are not seated, as everyone else is?'' He sneered. Harry glared back at Snape with his glowing, green eyes. Harry heard snickering from the Slytherin side of the room. ''I can't find a desk, _Professor_.'' He said, and Snape's lip curled even farther back.

''Oh, there is one free spot left, Potter—why don't you share a desk with Mr. Malfoy?'' He quizzed, lifting his nose. Harry squinted his eyes behind him and found Malfoy's face looking absolutely as if he had just been insulted. Malfoy sneered at him, and Harry turned back around to Snape. ''Sir, I couldn't—'' He tried, but Snape gestured Harry to sit down. Harry groaned, and forcefully walked over to where Malfoy sat. Malfoy smirked, and crossed his arms. Harry rolled his eyes and sat down beside the nasty Slytherin.

Although Harry did strongly dislike Malfoy, he couldn't help but be a little excited about sitting with him. Not because he liked him—but because Harry might be able to gather up evidence for his theory.


	5. Chapter 5

Malfoy smirked again before whispering from the corner of his mouth, ''Harry Potty gets to sit with the big boy today…'' which made no absolute sense to Harry, because Malfoy certainly wasn't big—actually, he was quite thin. Whatever Malfoy had meant, Harry didn't know—nor care. Harry paid no attention to the comment, because Snape whacked him in the head with a book shortly after Malfoy's remark.

''Ow! What was that for?'' Harry whined, rubbing the area where Snape had struck him. Snape curled his lip and said, '' _Sorry_. Hand slipped…'' and walked off. The Slytherin side of the room, along with Malfoy, broke into laughter. Harry looked over at Ron and Hermione, who looked absolutely flabberghasted. They looked like they could hit Snape right there, both sets of eyes glared at him harshly. Harry couldn't understand why Ron looked that way though—wasn't he angry with him? Didn't Ron cause a whole scene about how much he was upset with Harry? So now that Harry was the center of attention, Ron was going to act like his friend again? This made Harry irritated… he rolled his eyes and broke his gaze from his two ''friends''.

Malfoy smirked, then said to Harry, ''Potter broke up with his friends, did he?'' Harry rolled his eyes and opened his Potions textbook to the page Snape commanded. ''Everybody turn to page 12. And if you don't; I may accidently slip some poisonous potion into your pumpkin juice during lunchtime…'' He said. Neville shivered at the comment, and quickly slammed open his book and turned to the said page faster than anything Harry had seen before. But as he slammed open the book, poor Neville hit his funny bone on the desk and let out a wail of pain. Harry felt pitiful for him; because Snape shortly came rolling over to his desk and said, ''Well, well Mr. Longbottom… would you mind announcing to the class what you are crying over?'' At that, Neville gulped loudly and the whole of the Slytherin side broke into another fit of laughter. Harry noticed Neville's whole face had turned red. At this time, Harry felt extremely bad for him. He had just wanted to avoid being poisoned—but now the whole class watched as he wiped the tears from his little wet eyes.

Malfoy laughed along with his fellow Slytherins, which irritated Harry more than anything else at the moment. Harry interrupted his attention from Neville and onto Malfoy, who was busy clutching his stomach because of how much he was laughing. Harry scoffed, and said to Malfoy, '' We'll see who's laughing in the end…'' At this, Malfoy stopped laughing and looked at Harry with a puzzled look. ''What's that supposed to mean?'' He demanded, looking even more confused. Harry smirked. ''I know what you're up to, Malfoy.'' He said darkly. Malfoy's eyes widened. ''I don't know what you're talking about!'' He argued, but clearly he was lying. Harry could tell. ''You know exactly what I'm talking about.'' Harry challenged, and with that Malfoy looked at Harry pleadingly. ''All right, all right! I admit it—I'm sorry! Don't tell anyone, please!'' Malfoy conceded, pulling onto Harry's robes as if he were begging for food. But Harry wasn't completely convinced—what exactly was Malfoy admitting? Surely he wasn't admitting to Harry that he was a death eater! Malfoy was dumb, but not _that_ dumb.

''Wait, what are you talking about?'' Harry inquired, a puzzled look on his face. Malfoy hastily let go of Harry's robes and tilted his head. ''What are _you_ talking about?'' He mirrored, and the two boys stared at each other awkwardly. ''You're not implying that I have a huge crush on one of the statues near the dungeons and visit it every night with a rose?'' Malfoy asked awkwardly, and Harry slowly and awkwardly shook his head. ''No, I'm not implying that you have a crush on a statue near the dungeons and bring a rose to it every night, Malfoy.'' Harry promised, and Malfoy let out an awkward, ''oh'' and the two boys sat staring at each other awkwardly. When Snape came walking by them, he must have noticed the awkward atmosphere, because when he thought Harry wasn't looking, he whispered into Malfoy's ear something that sounded an awful lot like, ''What's going on? He doesn't know about… _it_ —does he?''

Harry and Malfoy didn't speak to each other for the rest of class, and Harry began to question the assumption he had in his mind that Malfoy wasn't dumb. Malfoy had a crush on a statue in the dungeons, and he planned dates with it and brought along roses… what else did he do with that statue? Harry didn't want to think about it—everytime he did, he felt like he was going to puke. He shivered at just the thought of it, and the rest of potions class was torture to him. When it was finally over, Harry felt like he was escaping Azkaban after many years of being imprisoned there. Hermione ran up to him as the rest of the class zoomed out of the room and down the corridors.

''Harry! Did you understand the bit when Professor Snape was discussing the bezoar's habitat? I had a feeling you wouldn't—so I wrote down extra notes for you to study!'' She said, but Harry wasn't hearing any of it—he couldn't help but think about the extremely awkward encounter with Malfoy. Hermione seemed to have noticed, because she stopped talking and frowned. ''Harry, what's wrong? Is everything alright?'' She asked, but Harry didn't want to tell her the whole truth in front of several other students. ''Later.'' He proclaimed, and Hermione nodded. ''Is it about Ron? If so, Harry—He asked me to tell you that he's sorry for the way he acted this morning, and he feels like a downright git for the way he talked to you.'' She said, and Harry turned to see Ron standing nervously beside him. ''Blimey, mate… Don't know what came over me this morning. I was a big jerk… I s'pose it's because this morning when you kicked me out of the dormitory. Ever since I've had that weird book I've been acting all grumpy. What do you say, forgive me?'' He asked, extending his hand out for Harry to shake. Harry hesitated, then accepted Ron's hand and said, ''You'd better not do this to me again… Man, I've got loads to tell you.'' And with that, Ron grinned.

Harry did think it was a little suspicious that the book Ron had recently retrieved had been giving him bad vibes. The book had been given to him by Professor Mcgonagall, who had an extra to spare for the boy's study paper that had been due over the summer. She had sent it through an owl to the Burrow for Ron to work on over the summer, and it had been making Ron act angrier and grumpier than he usually was. But Ron never really mentioned it until lunch time,when he told Harry and Hermione all the times he had snapped at his brothers and talked back to his mother with the book at hand. Hermione had suggested that it was jinxed with a bad aura, but Ron thought that was silly because it had been given to him by Professor Mcgonagall, who would've never given a student something like that. When Ron told Ginny about the book, she looked at him worryingly and asked him many questions.

''What did it look like?'' She would ask over and over again. ''Did it magically write anything on the front page when you opened it up?'' ''So it gives you bad vibes, you say?'' ''What kind? Anger, fear, or sorrow?'' ''It didn't have any song lyrics in it, did it?'' Are only some of the questions. She practically interviewed Ron, which confused Harry. Why was she so interested in the book? Did she know something about it that Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't?

After their little interrogation, Ginny jumped up from her seat and said, ''Got to go to the lady's room.'' Then walked off, Harry wasn't entirely sure but he was pretty convinced that it wasn't the lady's room that Ginny was heading for—he saw her walk off into the direction towards Professor Mcgonagall's office. Harry looked at the staff table and noticed Mcgonagall was missing. Was Ginny going to mention the book to Professor Mcgonagall?


End file.
